Car.



PATENTED MAY 9, 1905.

I. F.. OGONNOR.

GAR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 17,1905.

n ma 0 w i V 4/314 T T ORA E Y5 W] T NESSES:

STATES Patented May 9, 1905.

PATENT Orrrcn.

JOHN F. OCONNOR. OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIG-NOR TO W. H. MINER COMPANY,OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 789,294, dated May 9,1905.

Application filed February 17, 1905. Serial No. 246,023

To (all whom, it 711/11, con/00771,:

Be it known that I, JOHN F. OCONNOR, a citizen of the United States,residing in Chicage, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Cars, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to improvements in railway-cars or other vehicles,and more par- 1 o ticularly to the connection between ear-body andtruck.

Hereto'fore in the construction of cars the body-bolster has been.supported directly on the truck-bolster by center plates and center [5belt, or other swivel connection. In this old construction the frictionbetween the center plates is very great when the train of cars passesaround sharp curves, so much so that frequently the pressure of the carwheel flange against the track-rails to overcome the center-platefriction is four thousand pounds or more, and after the train againpasses onto a straight track the car-wheel flanges will frequentlycontinue to hug one rail of the 2 5 track until knocked or pushed aroundby a reverse curve of the track, thus occasioning great wear.

The object of my invention is to provide a car-body and truck-bolsterconnection of a 0 simple, eflicient, strong, and durable construction,by means of which the customary center plates may be done away with, aswell as the friction incident thereto, and whereby after the truck hasbeen thrown or pushed to 5 one side in passin around a curve and the-flanges of its whee s thus caused to hug the rail the truck will beautomatically swung back or restored to central position after the curveis passed, so that the flanges oi the wheels will thus no longer tend tohug one rail.

My invention consists in the means I employ to practically accomplishthis object or resultthat is to say, it consists, primarily, in

connection with the car body and truck and the body-bolster andtruck-bolster of a tersion-rod of suitable diameter to support the load,connected at one end, preferably its upper end, to the truck-bolster orparts rigidly connected therewith, and at its other end, preferably itslower end, to the bodybolster or an extension or part rigidly connectedtherewith, so that when the two bolsters swivel or turn in respect toeach other as the car passes around a curve the resistance to theturning of the bolster will be a tensional one of the upright car-bodysupporting or suspending rod instead of a frictional resistance of thecenter plates, as heretofore, and so that the torsional spring of thisred will itself swing back the truck or restore it to its centralposition after the car has passed the curved track. I prefer to connectthe upper end of the torsion-rod to the truck-bolster, and its lower endto the body-bolster instead of the reverse, as in this way the load issupported by a pulling strain or tension of the rod instead of by acompression strain on the rod in the direction of its length, as wouldbe the case where my invention is practiced by connecting the lower endof the rod to the truck-bolster and its upper end to the body-bolster.

My invention also consists in the construction of parts and devices andin the novel combinations of parts and devices herein shown ordescribed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure l is a rear elevation of a device embodying my invention. Fig. 2is a central vertical section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is ahorizontal section on line 3 of Figs. 1. and 2.

In the drawings, A represents a portion oi a car-body, and A the centersills thereof. 8 5

B is the body-bolster, and D the truck-bolster, the same being of anysuitable form and construction known to those skilled in the art. Thebody-bolster B preferably comprises an upper flat bar or member I) and a0 lower channel bar or member I) and a pillarpiece or strut-block If,securely riveted to the upper and lower members I) l) and having acentral opening b through which my car-body and truck-connectingtorsion-rod F passes. The truck-bolster D preferably comprises a pair ofchannel-bars (Z (Z and a collar d, securely riveted to the upper flangesof said channels and having a central opening d through which thebody-bolster extension or sleeve B passes. The body-bolster extension orsleeve B is rigidly secured by rivets 6* to the body-bolster and, ineffect, constitutes part of the body-bolster, as it is rigidly connectedtherewith. The body-bolster extension or sleeve B has near its upper endan enlargement or hub b to give an extended bearing against thetruck-bolster collar d to take the lateral and longitudinal thrust orpressure between car body and truck in the movement of the car. Thisbodybolster extension or sleeve B prefer ably projects or extendsdownwardly from the lower face of the body bolster. The truck-bolster Dhas rigidly secured thereto an extension D, the same preferablyconsisting of a pair of channel-b ars (Z rigidly secured by rivets (Z tothe front and rear faces of the truck-bolster, and a connecting-saddled, extending between and securely riveted to said bars (Z at their upperends by rivets d. The truck-bolster extension D projects upwardlybetween the center sills AA of the car-body, a free space m 00 beingleft between the same and the sills to permit the necessary freeswiveling movement of the car-truck in respect to the carbody. Thesaddle d of the truck bolster extension D is provided with a centralopening (1 to receive the upper end of my torsion-rod F, which connectsthe body and truck bolsters and suspends or supports the car-body on thecar-truck. This saddle d is also provided with a slot (Z to receive thekey f in the upper end of the torsion-rod F and which thus connects theupper end of the torsion-rod to the truck-bolster, so that this end ofthe torsion-rod cannot turn in respect to the truck-bolster. The lowerend of the torsion-rod F is provided with a corresponding slot f throughwhich passes the key which extends through the slot (i in the lower endof the body-bolster extension or sleeve D, and thus connects the lowerend of the torsion-rod F to the body-bolster, so that this lower end ofthe torsion-rod cannot turn in respect to the body-bolster. The carbodyis thus by my invention suspended or supported by the tension-rod F fromthe truck, and in the preferred construction of my invention shown inthe drawings the tension-rod F supports the car-body from the truck by atension or pulling strain on said rod F, as the upper end of the rod isconnected to the truck-bolster and the lower end of the rod is connectedto the body-bolster.

In operation when the car passes onto a curved track and the bolsters Band D turn or swivel in respect to each other the turning or swivelingmovement of the bolsters is resisted by the torsion of thesupporting-rod F, which torsion, however, is much less than thefrictional resistance of the center plates, and the torsion of thetension-rod F will automatically swing back or restore the truck to itscentral position in respect to the carbody, thus relieving the flangesof the wheels from further abnormal friction against the rail.

I claim- 1. In a railway-car the combination of the body-bolster andtruck-bolster, with a torsion-rod connected at one end to thetruckbolster and at the other end to the body-bolster and supporting thebody-bolster from the truck-bolster, so that when the two bolsters swingor turn in respect to each other when the car passes onto a curvedtrack, said rod will be under torsion and cause the truck to be swungback or restored to its normal or central position when the car passesthe curved track, substantially as specified.

2. The combination with a body-bolster and a truckbolster, of atorsion-supporting rod connected at one end to the body-bolster and atits other end to' the truck-bolster, substantially as specified.

3. The combination with a body bolster and a truck-bolster, of atorsion-rod connected at its upper end to the truck-bolster and at itslower end to the body-bolster so that said torsion-rod will support thebodybolster from the trirck-bolster by a tensile or pulling strain onsaid rod, substantially as specified.

4. The combination with a body-bolster having a downwardly-extendingextension or sleeve rigidly connected thereto, of a truckbolster havingan upwardly-projecting extension rigidly connected thereto, and atorsion-rod connected at its upper end to said truck-bolster extension,and connected at its lower end to said body-bolster extension or sleeve,substantially as specified.

5. The combination with a body -bolster having a downwardly-extendingextension or sleeve rigidly connected thereto, of a truck bolster havingan upwardly-projecting ex tension rigidly connected thereto, and atorsion-rod connected at its upper end to said truck-bolster extension,and connected at its lower end to said body-bolster extension or sleeve,said torsion-rod being connected to said bolster extensions by keys orpins ex tending through the ends of said torsion-rod and said extensionsrespectively, substantially as specified.

6. The combination with a body-bolster having a downwardly-extendingextension or sleeve rigidly connected thereto, of a truckbolster havingan upwardly-projecting extension rigidly connected thereto, and atorsion-rOd connected at its upper end to said truck-bolster extension,and connected at its lower end to said body-bolster extension or sleeve,said truck-bolster having a collar secured thereto furnished with a holeor opening through which said body-bolster extension or sleeve extends,substantially as specified.

7. The combination with a body-bolster having a downwardly-extendingextension or sleeve rigidly connected thereto, of a truckbolster havingan upwardly-projecting extension rigidly connected thereto, a torsionrodconnected at its upper end to said truckbolster extension, and connectedat its lower end to said body-bolster extension or sleeve, saidtruck-bolster having a collar secured thereto furnished with a hole oropening through which said body-bolster extension or sleeve extends, andsaid body-bolster extension or sleeve having an enlargement or hub togive an extended bearing against said collar on said truck-bolster totake the lateral and longitudinal thrust and pressure of the body andtruck bolsters in respect to each other, substantially as specified.

8. The combination with a truck-bolster, of a body-bolster and atorsion-rod suspending the body-bolster from the truck-bolster, andtorsionally connecting said bolsters, substantially as specified.

9. The combination with a truck-bolster,

of a body-bolster and a torsion-rod suspend ing the body-bolster fromthe truck-bolster, and torsionally connecting said bolsters, saidtruck-bolster having an upwardlyprojecting extension to which the upperend of said torsion-rod is connected, and said body-bolster having adownwardly-projecting extension. to which the lower end of saidtorsionrod is connected, substantially as specified.

1.0. The combination. with a truck-bolster, of a body-bolster and atorsion-rod suspending the'body-bolster from the truck-bolster, andtorsionally connecting said bolsters, said truck-bolster having anupwardly-proecting extension to which the upper end of said torsion-rodis connected, and said body-bolster having a downWardly-projectingextension to which the lower end of said torsion-rod is connected, andsaid truck-bolstcr having a JOHN F. OCONNOR.

Witnesses:

EDMUND ADoooK, WILLIAM A. GEIGER.

